Pages

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Livers are Important... Another Update

Do you ever just not know how to start telling a story? That's where I am with this post. There are all the vague things that I could use like "Life is crazy" or "So much has happened" but that just doesn't seem to do justice to what has happened in that last week. I guess I will just start.

There are so many details, it is almost hard to know where to start and what to share. For the sake of respecting my in-laws and their privacy, I guess I will just give the gist.

Here we go...

Last Tuesday, Phil's dad went back to the hospital. He has drains that help drain his liver and after the tube change, he developed another blood infection. This is at least the 3rd one he has had since July. But things were looking really bad this time.

At one point last week, they thought his kidneys might be failing. He had a seizure. His sodium levels were dangerously low. He was sleeping all the time and seemed confused when he was awake. They even had to intubate him at one point. And the only way to treat this infection was to put in more drains. His dad had very clearly said NO to more tubes. They were afraid to let him go home because they thought it would kill him. It looked like it was a matter of days before he would pass away.

With that in mind, Phil left for Virginia last Friday. We bought him a one-way ticket because we didn't know how long he would need to be back there. But we knew he needed to be there. Henry and I stayed behind, thinking we would be following in a couple of days to go back for the funeral.

But his dad started doing better. They had given him some IV antibiotics which he responded well to. At this point, they started talking Hospice again. In the past his dad wouldn't even entertain the idea of Hospice. This time he listened. By some small miracle, he agreed to Hospice earlier this week.

Now they are preparing to send his dad home. All the durable goods (like a hospital bed) are being delivered Thursday morning and his dad should come home, which is what he wants.

The nurses and doctors have told Phil they think he has a matter of week(s) to maybe a month, assuming the infection doesn't come back. Nobody knows if/when the infection will come back, since Hospice doesn't do antibiotics. Phil is staying a little while longer to make sure his dad gets settled and his mom has what she needs. But I think he will come home in a couple of days, baring his dad taking a quick turn for the worst.

One of the biggest challenges during this time has been deciding what Phil should do. Where he should be. Last week, it was a matter of deciding when he should go back there. Now that he is there, when does he come home? I know he wants to be there with his dad and mom and I can't blame him. But I know he misses Henry and I (probably Henry most) at the same time.

I'm a little afraid Phil will come home and his dad's infection will come right back. At the same time, Phil can't be gone for a month.

Losing a parent really hard and I think it is even harder for Phil since he is so far away.

So that's what is happening at the moment. At least on the east coast.

Ed was diagnosed with Liver Cancer in August of 2010. They gave him 6 months to live, maybe 12 months at that time. He has made it over 3 years. It's been a long, hard fight and it looks like we are facing the end of it. Please pray for Phil and his family as they go through this crazy difficult time.